Syndication: It's a Chilly Holiday for Many

It was a chilly pre-Christmas week for syndicated shows, according to the national household ratings for the week ending Dec. 25.

Especially hard-hit were the court shows, all of which fell week-to-week.

Judge Judy topped the genre as usual, but its 4.7 rating was off 6% for the week. Judge Joe Brown was down 3% to a 3.1, People’s Court fell 7% to a 2.7 and Divorce Court dropped 7% as well to a 2.5. Rookie Judge Alex was down 4% for the week to a 2.2, tying Judge Mathis, which was off 8%. Judge Hatchett weighed in with a 1.8, a 10% cut for the week.

The news was slightly better for the talk-show genre, though not for leaders Oprah and Dr. Phil, both of which hit season lows.

Oprah was down 7% for the week to a 6.2 and has been down for four straight weeks. Dr. Phil dropped 6% to a 4.7, also a new season low.

But four talk shows did gain for the week, led by Live With Regis and Kelly’s 3.9, which tied its season high and was up 3% for the week. Also up were Maury (4% to a 2.9), Montel (10% to a 2.2) and The Tony Danza Show (9% to a 1.2).

Freshmen Martha and The Tyra Banks Show were both flat for the week with a 1.8 and 1.7, respectively.

Also bucking the sluggish trend was the weekend edition of Entertainment Tonight. A repeat of a show looking at the biggest show business stories of the past 25 years earned a 3.1 rating, up 35% for the week and 24% year-to-year.

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